Torrid Grey - Irene Ferguson

Irene's new show is based on a paint colour made by Gamblin. A colour made up from what is left of all the other colours.In her new works she wanted to push her subject matter beyond portraiture completely creating paintings that reflect the relationship between the ubiquitous nature of the photographic image, and the traditional painterly space.

Irene is best known as the winner of the 2008 New Zealand Portrait Gallery/Adam Portrait Award. She has exhibited widely around New Zealand and overseas and completed her masters degree in New York in 2005. In 2010 she travelled to Italy to work at the studio of Charles H. Cecil in Florence where she practiced the 'sight size' technique that originated in the 17th century and was used by Renolds, Sargeant and other masters.